Systems and methods for implementing peer-to-peer wireless connections

ABSTRACT

Systems and methods are described herein for connecting related applications over a peer-to-peer network wireless connection using layer  2  communications protocols to initiate the connection between the applications. The layer  2  communications protocols include discovery frames that may be used to discover various types of systems available on a wireless network. The discover frames also include application names or identifiers that may be used to discover which applications are available for connecting with other systems over the wireless network.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This disclosure generally relates to systems and methods forimplementing peer-to-peer wireless network connections.

BACKGROUND

The use of mobile devices has become widespread and the need to networkor communicate between mobile devices that are in close proximity toeach other has increased. Several methods have been developed (e.g.,Universal Plug and Play, Bonjour, and Wi-Fi Direct) to facilitate mobiledevice networking and the networking of mobile devices to other nearbynon-mobile devices.

Typically, mobile devices advertise their availability to network withother devices via a generic connection request. The generic connectionrequest may provide the ability to identify devices that are capable ofestablishing a wireless connection with another device. Once the deviceshave identified each other, a wireless or Wi-Fi connection enablesapplications and services on the devices to exchange information.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

The features within the drawings are numbered and are cross referencedwith the written description. Generally, the first numeral reflects thedrawing number where the feature was first introduced, and the remainingnumerals are intended to distinguish the feature from the other notatedfeatures within that drawing. However, if a feature is used acrossseveral drawings, the number used to identify the feature in the drawingwhere the feature first appeared will be used. Reference will now bemade to the accompanying drawings, which are not necessarily drawn toscale and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a representative environment ofa peer-to-peer wireless network and the mobile devices that areimplementing the peer-to-peer wireless network in accordance with anembodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram illustrating one embodiment of howmobile devices establish a peer-to-peer wireless network in accordancewith an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method for initiatinga peer-to-peer wireless network connection for an application on tomobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram illustrating another exemplary method forinitiating a peer-to-peer wireless network connection for an applicationon a mobile device in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forestablishing a peer-to-peer wireless network connection for anapplication on a mobile device with an application on another mobiledevice in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating an exemplary method forestablishing a peer-to-peer wireless network connection for anapplication between two mobile devices in accordance with an embodimentof the disclosure in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a simplified illustration of an interface of a mobile devicethat initiates a peer-to-peer wireless network for a plurality ofapplications in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the invention are described more fully hereinafter withreference to the accompanying drawings, in which embodiments of thedisclosure are shown. This disclosure may, however, be embodied in manydifferent forms and should not be construed as limited to theembodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided sothat this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fullyconvey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.

Embodiments described in this disclosure may provide systems, methods,and apparatus for implementing a peer-to-peer wireless networkconnection between two mobile devices by using a simplified protocol. Inone aspect, a mobile device user may want to exchange data orinformation related to a single application with another mobile deviceuser. Typically, this requires the user to implement a detailedcommunications protocol to establish a Wi-Fi and TCP/IP connection. Inthe alternative, this disclosure describes systems and methods toinitiate a connection directly from the single application withouthaving to establish a TCP/IP connection. Various aspects of existingcommunications protocols may be modified to enable a stream-linedprocess for establishing a peer-to-peer wireless network connectionbetween an application on a first mobile device and a correspondingapplication on second mobile device.

Example embodiments of the invention will now be described withreference to the accompanying figures.

FIG. 1 is a simplified block diagram of a representative environment ofa peer-to-peer wireless network and the mobile devices that areimplementing the peer-to-peer wireless network. The environment 100 mayinclude a first mobile device 102 and a second mobile device 104 coupledtogether by a peer-to-peer wireless network connection 106. In thisembodiment, the peer-to-peer wireless network connection does notrequire an access point to create an ad-hoc network between the twodevices. Generally, the peer-to-peer network enables nearby devices todiscover and communicate with each other. For example, the wirelessnetwork connection 106 enables a first user 108 and a second user 110 toexchange information between their respective devices 102, 104.

In one embodiment, the first device 102 may include a computer processor112, memory 114, a communications module 116, a file transfer module118, a chat module 120, a game module 122, and a print module 124.However, the first device 102 may include a variety of other modules(not shown) that may be used or found on any type of mobile device. Forinstance, the first device 102 may include a video module, an audiomodule, and any other module for a feature or application that may beimplemented by the first device 102.

In this embodiment, the computer processor 112 may executecomputer-readable instructions stored in memory 114 that enable thedevice to execute installed hardware, applications, or services. The oneor more computer processors 112 may include, without limitation, acentral processing unit (CPU), a digital signal processor (DSP), areduced instruction set computer (RISC), a complex instruction setcomputer (CISC), a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA), or any combination thereof. The device102 may also include a chipset (not shown) for controllingcommunications between the one or more processors 112 and one or more ofthe other components of the device 102. In certain embodiments, thedevice 102 may be based on an Intel® Architecture system and theprocessor(s) 112 and chipset may be from a family of Intel® processorsand chipsets, such as the Intel® Atom® processor family. The one or moreprocessors 112 may also include one or more application-specificintegrated circuits (ASICs) or application-specific standard products(ASSPs) for handling specific data processing functions or tasks.

In this embodiment, the memory 114 may include one or more volatileand/or non-volatile memory devices including, but not limited to, randomaccess memory (RAM), dynamic RAM (DRAM), static RAM (SRAM), synchronousdynamic RAM (SDRAM), double data rate (DDR) SDRAM (DDR-SDRAM), RAM-BUSDRAM (RDRAM), flash memory devices, electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (EEPROM), non-volatile RAM (NVRAM), universal serialbus (USB) removable memory, or combinations thereof.

In this embodiment, the communication module 116 may implement andmanage wireless communications for the first device 102. Thecommunication module may include a wireless system that may include thehardware and software to broadcast and receive messages either using theWi-Fi Direct Standard (See; Wi-Fi Direct specification published in Oct.2010) and or the IEEE 802.11 wireless standard (See IEEE 802.11-2007,published March 8, 2007; IEEE 802.11n-2009, published Oct. 2009) or acombination thereof. The wireless system may include a transmitter and areceiver or a transceiver (not shown) capable of operating in a broadrange of operating frequencies governed by the 802.11 wireless standard.

In this embodiment, the device 102 may include several modules and/orapplications that enable specific functions on the device 102. Forexample, the file transfer module 118 may enable the first device 102 toshare files with other devices, whether moving, copying, or transferringvarious files that are stored in memory 114. The chat module 120 mayenable the near-real time exchange of text, video, or audio data betweentwo or more devices. The game module 122 may enable the playing ofinteractive games that may include various video, audio, and controlfeatures. In one aspect, games may be played in near-real-time betweenmobile devices, so that the users may play against or with each other ina common game environment. A print module 124 may enable interfacingwith remote printers to allow the user to print any type of documentstored on the first device 102. Lastly, the first device 102 may includea synchronization module 140 that may enable the device 102 tosynchronize various files (e.g., music, video, text) with another device104 or a remote storage device (not shown) that maintains copies or theoriginals of the files located on the first device 102. The seconddevice 104 may also include a computer processor 126, is memory 128, andthe same or similar modules described above, such as the communicationmodule 130, the file transfer module 132, the chat module 134, the gamemodule 136, the print module 138, and the synchronization module 142. Itshould be noted that the modules described above could be implemented byhardware, software, or a combination thereof.

FIG. 2 is a simplified block diagram 200 illustrating how the mobiledevices may establish a peer-to-peer wireless network. Diagram 200provides additional detail for the communication modules 116, 130described in FIG. 1. In this embodiment, the communication modules 116,130 may include modules that operate under the Open SystemInterconnection (OSI) model of networking. Generally, the OSI model isbroken down into media layers and host layers. The media layers mayinclude the physical layer (layer 1), the data link layer (layer 2), andthe network layer (layer 3). The layer 1 modules 202, 216 relate tomedia, signal, and binary transmission of data. The layer 2 modules 204,218 may relate to physical addressing, the data in layer 2 is composedof discovery action frames or action frames that may be used fordiscovering other devices on the network. The layer 3 modules 206, 220may relate to path determination and logical addressing; data in thislayer is referred to as packets. The host layers include the transportlayer (layer 4), the session layer (layer 5), the presentation layer(layer 6), and the application layer (layer 7). The layer 4 modules 208,222 may relate to end-to-end connections, reliability, and flow controland are generally referred by units of segments. The layer 5 modules210, 224 may relate to interhost communication and managing sessionsbetween applications. The layer 6 modules 212, 226 may relate to datarepresentation, encryption, and decryption. The layer 7 modules 214, 228may relate to application data for process-to-process communicationsacross an Internet Protocol network.

Under layer 2 protocols, a device (e.g., device 102) may advertise thatit is soliciting other devices (e.g., device 104) to establish a Wi-Fidirect connection or peer-to-peer wireless network connection 106.Advertising occurs by sending or broadcasting information from onedevice over the network to other devices. Layer 2 advertising ordiscovery protocols may include beacon frames, probe request frames, andprobe response frames that contain address or network information (e.g.,Service Set ID) for a device 102. In general, a receiving device (e.g.,device 104) may extract the address and network from the frames sent bythe transmitting device (e.g., device 102). The frames or discoveryaction frames may include information fields in addition to the addressand network information fields. For example, the frames may also includea primary device type field and a secondary device type field. Theprimary device type field may generally include device informationrelated to the types of devices that the transmitting device is lookingfor over the network. In one embodiment, the secondary device type fieldmay include a list of additional devices being sought over the network.The device type fields may include vendor specific device informationrelated to the make or model of the device. Further, the deviceinformation may also include hardware-specific features that the deviceshould include. However, in an alternative embodiment, the secondarydevice type field may include the name or identifier of one or moreapplications or services being sought on the devices that are on thenetwork. The applications and services may include the featuresdescribed above in FIG. 1 and any other type of application or servicethat may be performed by a computing device.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of a method 300 for initiating a peer-to-peerwireless network connection for an application on a mobile device. Themethod 300 illustrates implementing application advertising by thedevice 102 using the layer 2 protocol described above.

At block 302, device 102 maps all applications and services to thesecondary device type field used in the action frames being broadcastover the network. The action frames may include one or more of any layer2 communication frame including, but not limited to, beacon frames,probe response frames, and probe request frames. In one embodiment, thesecondary device type field may be vendor specific, so that the devicesbeing sought are of a vendor specific type. The vendor specific type maybe mapped in the primary device type field.

The beacon frames are broadcast over the wireless network and includethe Service Set Identifier (SSID) that advertises the presence of thedevice 102 to other devices (e.g., device 104) on the wireless network106. The beacon is periodically broadcasted over the wireless network106. In the peer-to-peer context, the beacon is broadcast to deviceswithin a relatively short distance away, less than 150 feet from thedevice. In addition to the SSID, the beacon may also include the primarydevice type and secondary device type information. For example, theprimary device type field may include vendor-specific details of thedevices being sought by the device 102. The secondary device type fieldmay include the application identifiers for applications being sought bythe device 102.

The probe request frames may be used to request information from otherdevices on the wireless network connection 106. For example, the proberequest frame may request other devices to respond to the probe requestto determine which devices are within range of the transmitting device.The probe request may also include primary device type and secondarydevice type information. The device type information may be treated as arequest to determine if certain types of devices (e.g., using theprimary device type field) are within range and whether they havespecific applications installed (e.g. using the secondary device typefield). In a similar manner, the probe response frames sent in responseto receiving the probe request frames may also include the primary andsecondary device type information.

At block 304, the secondary device type field is attached to a discoveryframe that may be broadcast by the device 102. As noted above, thediscovery frame may include, but is not limited to, the beacon frame,the probe request frame, and the probe response frame.

At block 306, the discovery frame is broadcast by the device 102 overthe network 106. The discovery frame is attempting to discover nearbydevices (e.g., device 104). If the discovery frame may include theprimary and secondary device type information, the discovery frame maybe attempting to locate nearby devices of a certain device type thathave certain applications installed. In another embodiment, thediscovery frame may include the secondary device type information and isused to detect any devices, regardless of type, that have the one ormore applications listed in the secondary device type field installed onthe device.

At block 308, a response to the discovery frame is received at thedevice 102. The response is an action frame sent from another device 104on the network that may include a request to connect with the device 102using one or more of the applications. In one embodiment, the responsemay indicate that the device 104 does not include the applications beingsought by the device 102 that sent the discovery frame. In anotherembodiment, the response may indicate that the device 104 does includethe application being sought by the broadcasting device 102. Theresponse may also include a request from the device 104 for access tothe one or more applications installed on the broadcasting device 102.

At block 310, upon receiving the response to connect with another device104, the communication module 116 initiates a connection with the device104. Once the connection is made between the application of the firstdevice 102 with the application on the second device 104, the first andsecond devices begin exchanging application-related information over thewireless network connection 106.

FIG. 4 is a flow diagram 4 illustrating another method 400 forinitiating a peer-to-peer wireless network connection for an applicationon a mobile device 102. The method 400 illustrates implementingapplication advertising by the device 102 using the layer 2 protocoldescribed above. It should be noted that the sequence of eventspresented in the method 400 is merely representative of one embodiment.In other embodiments, the events may be implemented in a differentsequence and may even omit one or more of the events in anothersequence.

At block 402, the device 102 determines, or is instructed on, whichtypes of devices that the device 102 wants to connect with over awireless network connection 106. The device type may include any devicewith a network connection or a vendor-specific device based on make,model, or operating system version. The device type information may bemapped to a primary device type field that may be used in layer 2discovery frames or action frames. As noted above, the primary devicetype field is used by layer 2 discovery techniques to locate specifictypes of devices connected to the network.

At block 404, the device 102 determines, or is instructed on, whichapplication is needed to connect with a corresponding application onanother device 104. The device maps the application name or identifierto the secondary device type field. As noted above, the secondary devicetype field mapped with an application name or identifier is used bylayer 2 discovery techniques to locate specific applications on thedevices connected to the network.

At block 406, the device 102 attaches the secondary device type field toa layer 2 action frame that is used for discovery of devices on thewireless network connection 106.

At block 408, the device 102 transmits the discovery action frame withthe secondary device type field information over the wirelesspeer-to-peer network advertising for a compatible device with acompatible application. In another embodiment, the device 102 isadvertising for any device that has a compatible application. Acompatible application is an application or service that may interfacewith another application, successfully exchange information with anotherapplication, and/or is designed to interface with another applicationthat is mapped in the secondary device type field of the action frame.

At block 410, the device 102 receives a response to the discovery actionframe. In one embodiment, the response may include a connection requestfor the application that was included in the discovery action frame thatwas broadcasted. In another embodiment, the response may include anindication that the application specified in the discovery action frameis installed on the responding device 104.

At block 412, a connection over the wireless network is enabled betweenthe application on the broadcasting device 102 and a correspondingapplication on the responding device 104. The connection is enabled toexchange information between the applications either on an exclusive ora non-exclusive basis. In the non-exclusive embodiment, the connectionis enabled by making a wireless connection that may be used by otherapplications on the device to exchange information. In the exclusiveembodiment, an exclusive connection is enabled between the applicationsadvertised in the discovery action frame. The other applications on thedevices are excluded from using the wireless connection.

FIG. 5 is a flow diagram of a method 500 establishing a peer-to-peerwireless connection for an application on a mobile device 102 with anapplication on another mobile device 104. The method 500 illustratesresponding to a discovery frame or action frame received by a device 104using the layer 2 protocol described above.

At block 502, the device 104 receives a layer 2 communication (e.g., adiscovery frame or action frame) over the peer-to-peer wireless networkconnection 106. The layer 2 communication may include, but is notlimited to, a beacon frame or a probe request frame. Embedded within theone or more frames is a secondary device type field that has beenmodified to include an application name or identifier that is stored onthe device 102 that sent the layer 2 communication.

At block 504, the device 104 extracts the application. name fromsecondary device type field of the discovery frame or action frame. Inone embodiment, the extraction process may include copying theapplication name from the secondary device type field. In anotherembodiment, the extraction process may include reading the informationstored in the secondary device type field.

At block 506, if the device 104 has the same or similar service orapplication stored in memory 128 or a module 130-138 on the device, thecomputer processor presents a prompt on the display of the device 104asking the user 110 whether the user 110 wants to interface with thedevice 102 using the application or service extracted from the discoveryframe or action frame.

At block 508, the device 104 sends a response to the device 102 that wassoliciting a connection over the peer-to-peer wireless network 106. Theresponse may be an affirmative response or a negative response. If thesoliciting device 102 receives an affirmative response the devices 102,104 connect their respective applications to each other over thepeer-to-peer wireless network and begin exchanging information.

FIG. 6 is a flow diagram illustrating a method 400 for establishing apeer-to-peer wireless network connection 106 for a specific applicationbetween two devices 102, 104 using a layer 2 communications protocol.The flow diagram includes a time axis (e.g., time arrow) indicating thetiming of the exchanges between the devices 102. 104.

At block 602, a first device 102 may provide discovery frames over apeer-to-peer wireless network connection 106 searching for other devices(e.g., device 104) that are within range. The discovery frames includean application name or identifier that the device 102 wants to discoveron those devices. In one embodiment, the application name is stored in asecondary device type field embedded into the discovery frame. Thediscovery frame may be included as part of any layer 2 communicationsprotocol. In one embodiment, the discovery frame may be a beacon frame.In another embodiment, the discovery frame may be a probe request frame.

At block 604, the second device 104 may provide a response to thediscovery frame that it received from the first device 102. The responsemay include an indication that the application included in the discoveryframe is stored or installed on the second device 104. The response mayalso include an indication that the second device 104 wants to exchangeinformation, for example an operation, between the application on thefirst device 102 and the corresponding application on the second device104.

In another embodiment, the second device 104 may provide a discoveryframe that may include the application name embedded in the frame. Inone embodiment, the application name is embedded in the secondary devicetype field of the discovery frame. The first device 102 receives thediscovery frame and determines if the application is stored orinstalled, for example, in the memory of device 102. The first device102 may send a response that indicates that the user 108 wants toexchange information with the second device 104 using the application.At block 606, the devices 102 and 104 enable a wireless or Wi-Ficonnection to exchange information between the correspondingapplications stored on each device. In one embodiment, the Wi-Ficonnection is non-exclusive and the connection may be used between anyof the applications stored on the device. In another embodiment, thewireless or Wi-Fi connection is exclusive to the application embedded inthe discovery frame.

FIG. 7 is a simplified illustration of an exemplary graphical userinterface (GUI) 700 for device 102 that initiates a peer-to-peerwireless network connection for a plurality of applications. In thisembodiment, a plurality of application icons 702-712 are positioned onthe desk top of the GUI 700. The application icons are a selectablefeature that may engage or spawn the application on the device. In oneembodiment, the applications may include a file transfer application702, a chat application 704, a print application 706, and a first gameapplication 708, a second game application 710, and a synchronizationapplication 712.

The file transfer application 702 may be used to transfer files withinthe device or to other devices connected to the device through copying,moving, or transferring files from one storage location to anotherstorage location. The files may include any electronic document, file,instruction, or code.

The chat application 704 is enabled to exchange text, audio, or videomessage in a real-time or near-real-time manner between this device 102and another device 104.

The print application 706 may enable printing of documents stored on thedevice 102. The device may interface with networked printers or withprinters over a peer-to-peer wireless connection.

The game applications 708, 710 are representative of any game orentertainment program that may be played on the device, over a network,or over is peer-to-peer connection.

Lastly, the device 102 may include a synchronization application 712that enables the device to synchronize files that are shared betweenother devices or that are stored remotely from the device 102. In oneembodiment, the synchronization application 712 may synchronize themusic file database of device 102 with a remote music file databasestored on another device.

The GUI 700 also may include connection windows for each of theapplications 714-724. The connection windows enable a user to select anapplication that the user wants to share or to interface with anotheruser. In one embodiment, the file transfer connection window 714 may bespawned by right clicking on a mouse while the cursor (not shown) ishovering over the file transfer application 702. The file transferconnection window 714 may provide a list of available, targeted, orin-range users that may queried on whether they want their file transferapplications to communicate with each other over a peer-to-peer wirelessnetwork connection 106. In this embodiment, three users are shown to beavailable. The user 108 may select user 1, user 2, or server 1, or acombination thereof, and initiate a connection request by selecting theinitiate button. In one embodiment, the initiate button enables thecomputer processor 112 to map the file transfer application to thesecondary device type field being used in the layer 2 communicationaction frames. As described above in FIGS. 3-6, the secondary devicetype field enables the device 102 to connect its file transferapplication with another file transfer application on another device104. In other embodiments, the available entities may be printers,servers, databases, or applications running on another device.

Embodiments described herein may be implemented using hardware,software, and/or firmware, for example, to perform the methods and/oroperations described herein. Certain embodiments described herein may beprovided as a tangible machine-readable medium storingmachine-executable instructions that, if executed by a machine, causethe machine to perform. the methods and/or operations described herein.The tangible machine-readable medium may include, but is not limited to,any type of disk including floppy disks, optical disks, compact diskread-only memories (CD-ROMs), compact disk rewritables (CD-RWs),magneto-optical disks, semiconductor devices such as read-only memories(ROMs), random access memories (RAMs) such as dynamic and static RAMs,erasable programmable read-only memories (EPROMs), electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memories (EEPROMs), flash memories, magnetic oroptical cards, or any type of tangible media suitable for storingelectronic instructions. The machine may include any suitable processingor computing platform, device or system and may be implemented using anysuitable combination of hardware and/or software. The instructions mayinclude any suitable type of code and may be implemented using anysuitable programming language. In other embodiments, machine-executableinstructions for performing the methods and/or operations describedherein may be embodied in firmware.

Various features, aspects, and embodiments have been described herein.The features, aspects, and embodiments are susceptible to combinationwith one another as well as to variation and modification, as will beunderstood by those having skill in the art. The present disclosureshould, therefore, be considered to encompass such combinations,variations, and modifications.

The terms and expressions which have been employed herein may be used asterms of description and not of limitation. In the use of such terms andexpressions, there is no intention of excluding any equivalents of thefeatures shown and described (or portions thereof), and it is recognizedthat various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.Other modifications, variations, and alternatives are also possible.Accordingly, the claims are intended to cover all such equivalents.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been described inconnection with what is presently considered to be the most practicaland various embodiments, it is to be understood that the invention isnot to be limited to the disclosed embodiments, but on the contrary, isintended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangementsincluded within the scope of the claims. Although specific terms areemployed herein, they may be used in a generic and descriptive senseonly, and not for purposes of limitation.

This written description uses examples to disclose certain embodimentsof the invention, including the best mode, and also to enable any personskilled in the art to practice certain embodiments of the invention,including making and using any devices or systems and performing anyincorporated methods. The patentable scope of certain embodiments of theinvention is defined in the claims, and may include other examples thatoccur to those skilled in the art. Such other examples are intended tobe within the scope of the claims if they have structural elements thatdo not differ from the literal language of the claims, or if theyinclude equivalent structural elements with insubstantial differencesfrom the literal language of the claims.

The following examples pertain to further embodiments. A methodcomprising mapping an application on a device to a data link layersecondary device type field, attaching the secondary device type fieldto a data link layer discovery action frame, transmitting the discoveryaction frame over a peer-to-peer wireless network, and receiving aresponse comprising a request to access the application provided in thesecondary device type field. The method further comprises mapping adevice type to a primary device type field.

In one embodiment, the data link layer is based in part on an OpenSystems Connection Model Data Link Layer protocol. Also, the discoveryaction frame comprises a beacon frame, a probe request, or a proberesponse frame. Further, the mapping of the application may be initiatedbased in part on detecting the selection of an icon for the application,the icon being displayed on a graphical user interface of the device.

Another exemplary embodiment includes a method comprising receiving anaction frame over a peer-to-peer wireless network at a device, theaction frame comprising a secondary device type field that includes anapplication name or identifier, extracting the application name oridentifier from the secondary device type field, determining whether theapplication name or identifier corresponds to an application stored onthe device, determining whether to use the peer-to-peer wireless networkto exchange information related to the application, and transmitting aresponse comprising an indication to initiate a peer-to-peer wirelessnetwork connection for the application. In one instance, the actionframe comprises a primary device type field that comprises device typeinformation and a discovery action frame for an Open Systems ConnectionModel Data Link layer protocol.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises determining whetherthe application name or identifier corresponds to an application storedon the device comprises determining whether the correspondingapplication is compatible with the named application. In one instance,the device is a first device and the application is a first application,and the method is further comprising establishing a peer-to-peerwireless connection between the first application on the first deviceand a second application on a second device.

Another exemplary embodiment includes one or more tangiblecomputer-readable storage media comprising computer-executableinstructions operable to, when executed by at least one computerprocessor, enable the at least one computer processor to implement amethod comprising: mapping an application on a device to a data linklayer secondary device type field, attaching the secondary device typefield to a data link layer discovery action frame, transmitting thediscovery action frame over a peer-to-peer wireless network, andreceiving a response comprising a request to access the applicationprovided in the secondary device type field, and mapping a device typeto a primary device type field.

In one embodiment, the discovery action frame comprises a beacon frame,a probe request frame, or a probe response frame.

In another embodiment, the method further comprises determining that anicon for the application was selected to initiate a wireless connectionfor the application, the icon being displayed on a graphical userinterface for the device and determining that an available device wasselected as a target of the wireless connection for the application.

Another embodiment may include a device comprising memory to store aplurality of applications that are executable on the device, a computerprocessor to map at least one of the applications to a discovery actionframe, a communications module to solicit peer-to-peer wirelessconnections for the at least one application using the discovery actionframe, the communications module to establish a peer-to-peer wirelessconnection for the at least one application when a response to thediscovery action frame is received. The discovery action frame comprisesa primary device type field and a secondary device type field. The atleast one application is mapped to the secondary device type field and adevice type is mapped to the primary device type field. Further, the atleast one application comprises one of the following: a file transferapplication, a synchronization application, a gaming application, a chatapplication, or a printing application. Lastly, the discovery actionframe comprises a beacon frame, a probe request frame, or a proberesponse frame.

1-22. (canceled)
 23. A method comprising: mapping an application on adevice to a data link layer secondary device type field; attaching thesecondary device type field to a data link layer discovery action frame;transmitting the discovery action frame over a peer-to-peer wirelessnetwork; and receiving a response comprising a request to access theapplication provided in the secondary device type field.
 24. The methodof claim 23, further comprising mapping a device type to a primarydevice type field.
 25. The method of claim 23, wherein the data linklayer is based in part on an Open Systems Connection Model Data LinkLayer protocol.
 26. The method of claim 23, wherein the discovery actionframe comprises a beacon frame, a probe request, or a probe responseframe.
 27. The method of claim 23, wherein mapping the application isinitiated based in part on detecting the selection of an icon for theapplication, the icon being displayed on a graphical user interface ofthe device.
 28. A method comprising: receiving an action frame over apeer-to-peer wireless network at a device, the action frame comprising asecondary device type field that includes an application name oridentifier; extracting the application name or identifier from thesecondary device type field; determining whether the application name oridentifier corresponds to an application stored on the device;determining whether to use the peer-to-peer wireless network to exchangeinformation related to the application; and transmitting a responsecomprising an indication to initiate a peer-to-peer wireless networkconnection for the application.
 29. The method of claim 28, wherein theaction frame comprises a primary device type field that comprises devicetype information.
 30. The method of claim 28, wherein the action framecomprises a discovery action frame for an Open Systems Connection ModelData Link layer protocol.
 31. The method of claim 28, whereindetermining whether the application name or identifier corresponds to anapplication stored on the device comprises determining whether thecorresponding application is compatible with the named application. 32.The method of claim 28, wherein the device is a first device and theapplication is a first application, and further comprising establishingthe peer-to-peer wireless network connection between the firstapplication on the first device and a second application on a seconddevice.
 33. One or more tangible computer-readable storage mediacomprising computer-executable instructions operable to, when executedby at least one computer processor, enable the at least one computerprocessor to implement a method comprising: mapping an application on adevice to a data link layer secondary device type field; attaching thesecondary device type field to a data link layer discovery action frame;transmitting the discovery action frame over a peer-to-peer wirelessnetwork; and receiving a response comprising a request to access theapplication provided in the secondary device type field.
 34. The one ormore tangible computer-readable storage media of claim 33, furthercomprising mapping a device type to a primary device type field.
 35. Theone or more tangible computer-readable storage media of claim 33,wherein the discovery action frame comprises a beacon frame, a proberequest frame, or a probe response frame.
 36. The one or more tangiblecomputer-readable storage media of claim 33, further comprisingdetermining that an icon for the application was selected to initiate awireless connection for the application, the icon being displayed on agraphical user interface for the device.
 37. The one or more tangiblecomputer-readable storage media of claim 36, further comprisingdetermining that an available device was selected as a target of thewireless connection for the application.
 38. A device comprising: memoryto store a plurality of applications that are executable on the device;a computer processor to map at least one of the applications to adiscovery action frame; a communications module to solicit peer-to-peerwireless connections for the at least one application using thediscovery action frame, the communications module to establish apeer-to-peer wireless connection for the at least one application when aresponse to the discovery action frame is received.
 39. The device ofclaim 38, wherein the discovery action frame comprises a primary devicetype field and a secondary device type field.
 40. The device of claim38, wherein the at least one application is mapped to the secondarydevice type field and a device type is mapped to the primary device typefield.
 41. The device of claim 39, wherein the at least one applicationcomprises one of the following: a file transfer application, asynchronization application, a gaming application, a chat application,or a printing application.
 42. The device of claim 39, wherein thediscovery action frame comprises: a beacon frame, a probe request frame,or a probe response frame.